1. Technical Field
The present invention relates in general to power supplies and, in particular to a modular DC voltage distribution system. More particularly, the present invention relates to a split input/output modular architecture for providing for run-time flexibility and scalability for DC distribution within an electronic system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Power electronics is facing a new challenge from the development of dynamic, low-voltage applications such as high-performance microprocessor computers systems utilized within network servers. These devices require tight regulation of extremely low voltage outputs as well as very fast response to large load transitions. Applications such as these which demand high power density, low power consumption, high efficiency, and innovative structural implementation require improved power supply technology which has remained relatively static.
The concept of modularity in electronic devices is gaining increasing popularity. A modular electronic system, such as a modular data processing system, grows from a basic configuration accommodating a few users (or having basic features) to a very large configuration accommodating many users (or having augmented features). A network server is one such example of a data processing system having widely varying design variability.
Traditionally, power supplies for electronic devices such as servers are custom designed. Significant development time and resources are required to support such customization for systems having individualized power requirements. Since the design and construction of a custom power supply presumably overlaps the design phase of the data processing system, supply capacity requirements may have to be adjusted, resulting in an overall delay in product development.
It would therefore be desirable to provide a modular power supply system that addresses increasingly unpredictable power supply requirements.
A modular DC power distribution system is disclosed herein. A physically discrete input conversion module is utilized for converting a source AC signal to a high voltage DC signal. Multiple universal mounting sites are provided in a power supply backplane for engaging one or more of such input conversion modules. Within the power supply backplane, the high voltage DC signal is delivered to a DC distribution bus. A physically discrete DC step-down module is utilized for converting the high voltage DC signal from the DC distribution bus to a point-of-load DC signal distributable to application boards. The power supply backplane includes multiple universal mounting sites wherein one or more DC step-down modules may be installed or removed. In another embodiment, the DC power distribution system of the present invention includes a pre-charge system for permitting the input conversion modules and the DC step-down modules to be hot plugged into the power supply backplane.
All objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed written description.